Qatar hasĀ sentenced to capital punishment for the 8 ex-Indian naval officers
Qatar :It is shocking news for India that the eight ex-Indian naval officers have been sentenced to death by a court in Qatar. Earlier, the charges were not public, but now, according to reports, it is said that they were arrested under the charges of spying for Israel on Qatar’s advanced submarines.
What’s the matter?
There was a company in Qatar named Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, a defense service provider company, in which all the officers were working for 5ā6 years. The company was owned by the Omani national, a retired squadron leader of the royal Omani air force, who was also arrested along with the officers by Qatari authorities in August, but he was released in November.
About the arrest:
QATAR : They were arrested by the State Security Bureau, the Qatari intelligence agency, on August 30, 2022, but the matter came to light in September when the Indian Embassy learned about it and later by the family members of the officers. Initially, no official statement was given by Qatari authorities about the charges under which the trial is being held, but some foreign media have hinted at espionage and money laundering. The officers have been in solitary confinement, which has a bad impact on people’s mental health.
About the naval officers:
First of all, the 8 officers are: Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Saurabh Vasisht, Commander Purenendu Tiwari, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Commander Amit Nagpal, and Sailor Ragesh.
Captain Purenendu Tiwari received the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Award in 2019 for his services in strengthening the bilateral ties between India and Qatar.
He is the only person from the armed forces to receive this award.
Relationship between India and Qatar:
The Amir of Qatar, HH Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, paid a visit to India in March 2015, and in 2016, our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi visited Doha. India’s bilateral trade with Qatar in 2022ā23 was US $18.77 billion; India’s exports were US $1.96 billion; and India’s imports were US 16.8 billion. Qatar is the largest supplier of LNG to India, accounting for 48%. Recently, in August 2023, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) announced its plan to invest approximately $1 billion in Reliance Retail Venture Limited. In COVID times, Qatar Airways transported medical aid from across the globe to India. So we have good bilateral ties.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA):
Our Hon’ble External Affairs Minister Shri Dr. S. Jaishankar has expressed his deep shock at the verdict of the death penalty. He said, “Due to the confidential nature of the proceedings in this case, it wouldn’t be appropriate to make any comment”.
Many opposition leaders, along with the family members of the officers, are demanding their release from the Qatari authorities.
The conditions of the officers:
After the arrest on September 30, the naval officers were allowed to make brief telephonic contact with their family members, and they also cannot talk in their native language but have to talk in English.
The first consular access was granted on October 3:
later, they were allowed to make phone calls to their family members only once a week. Just like this case, there was another case in the past that involved Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was also sentenced to death by the Pakistani military on charges of espionage and terrorism in April 2017. But India has approached the International Court of Justice against Pakistan’s denial of consular access and challenged the death sentence. So now it would be interesting to see what India will do this time.
